Winter with Katarzyna

He wasn’t sure if she liked having him around in uniform, but she seemed much more talkative when he was dressed like a civilian. She even excused his accent whenever he butchered her native tongue.

They strolled like a couple in a park in Winter. A gentle snow came from above as they chatted with heavy accent English. Even though they weren’t particularly an item, they acted like friends anyway.

They sat on a bench, admiring the winter day in silence. Katarzyna looked at Graeber, wishing this German boy wasn’t so handsome for a moment. “Where are your friends?”

“Russland,“ he says. “Africa as soon as the bolsheviks throw in the towel.”

“You still think they’ll collapse?”

Graeber regards the girl beside him with confusion. “Of course. As soon as the winter thaws, we’ll finish them off. What do they have to fight for?”

What do YOU have to fight for? She wanted to ask but wasn’t digging for a fight or to have the SA’s attention come down on her. She was unwilling to admit it, but being acquainted with Graeber made her less of a sore thumb under the German spies in Paris… sure, that was the only reason.

She shrugs. “What if not, though? Hypothetically speaking.”

“There’s no other way. We have to win. Tooth and nail. To let evil like THAT continue would be absolutely absurd.”

Graeber was so sure. She wondered if he knew anything his master race fantasy was doing. What it already did in Poland, what its allies were doing. Italy. Yugoslavia. Romania. Bulgaria… the Japanese even. Was he aware of what he was fighting for? Graeber was fighting to cover up crimes against humanity… his side couldn’t win.

“Yeah…” Katarzyna remembered the stories about the Russians too, what they did to the Ukrainians, political enemies, and such. Would they be any better than the Germans? She made a bitter face and suddenly felt hopeless.

“What’s the matter,” Graeber grabbed her arm.

“I feel sick,” she replies.

“So suddenly?”

“Must’ve been a bad piece of bread.” She lied.

“Let’s walk then, get your mind off the bread and the back on the beautiful snow.”

After a few steps, she rubbed shoulders with her companion like a cat seeking attention. “What is it now?” Graeber asked.

“Who did you come here with?”

“I came here alone,” Graeber looked down at her and blushed. She looked cute the way she looked up at him.

“When we boarded the train, you were with another man.”

“Oh, that was just Lukas,” Graeber chuckles. “He’s brought me here from Berlin, you know? I wouldn’t be here without him.”

“Does he…make a good friend?” Katarzyna probed, silently judging his friend.

“Lukas? He’s a good-hearted man,” Graeber has to think. “He’s done a lot for me already.”

“What’s he think of the war?”

“Who? Lukas? He hates it. Anyone with half a head hates it. All this liberating effort is tiring. I like the adventure, though. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d see so much,” his eyes lingered at Katarzyna, and he smiled. “Or see so many beautiful things.”

Katarzyna caught his gaze and blushed hard. _God damn German! Don’t look at me like that! _She was never sure what she wanted from him...or herself.

Her brows furrowed, and she looked away, hiding her blush. She was also worried her eyes would betray her. Falling in love with a German? What the hell…?

“You’re beautiful, Katarzyna,” Graeber said, grabbing her hand. “I’m glad you saw and talked to me.”

Katarzyna’s heart throbbed, and her mind spun. Her fingers laced with his, and she swallowed. No… no, no, no! If anyone saw her, they’d think she was a sympathizer!

She snapped her head back to yell at him, but instead, she saw his face. Handsome and tan. Close and warm. “Oh, fait chier.”

Damn those who wish to deny her love. Cupids don’t play politics! Besides, he owed her this… Katarzyna leaned and kissed Graeber. A quick peck on the lips makes her nerves rattle with weird splendor. She felt her lips tingle, longing for something more.

“Whoa,” Graeber says. “What was that for?”

Katarzyna was scared for a moment. She looked at their joined hands, and she felt sadness. “I don’t know. When are you leaving for the war again?”

“It’s my last week away from the front,” Graeber says.

“And back to Berlin?” She follows.

“2 more days.”

She squeezed his hand. The forbidden love scratched at her heart. “I shouldn’t be…but I think I’m starting to fall in love with you.”

Graeber says nothing, so this prompts Katarzyna to continue. “I think the side you’re fighting for is wrong, though, but when I listen to you talk, I know you think you’re fighting for the greater good. But you’re not. Hitler, your Third Reich, and everyone else it is evil.”

—?!

The train lurches forward, and a Feldwebel storms down the train. “Out! OUT OUT! Everyone out!”

How much time had passed? The sky was early morning blue, the clouds were distant, and the air was bitter when they stepped outside.

“Partisans!” The Feldwebel says frantically. “In the forest! They nearly blew up our tracks, but the fuses didn’t work.”

“Where are they?” Someone shouts.

“The forest! Haven’t you been listening?”

The forest beckons. It’s tall. Thick. Dark. It’s the unknown again; Graeber knew **** was lingering inside. He’s about to say something when everyone is ordered to go in. Lukas grabs Graeber and pulls him close. “Stay close, my friend.”

“This isn’t good,” Graeber tightens his grip on his Mauser. “We’re in deep trouble!”

“No worries,” Lukas ensures. “We’re still together.”

Graeber’s chest tightens as he is swallowed in the shadow of the forest. “How can you be so sure?”

Dead earth crunches beneath his boots, and he starts to breathe heavily. Lukas shoulders his rifle and grins. “A gut feeling.”